Displaying automatically recognized text in proximity to a source image to assist comparibility

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates displaying automatically recognized text, wherein the automatically recognized text includes optical character recognition (OCR) text or intelligent character recognition (ICR) text. During operation, the system receives a source image containing text from a user. Next, the system performs a character-recognition operation on the source image to produce recognized text. The system then locates a data field within the source image. Next, the system identifies a subset of the recognized text that corresponds with the data field. After that, the system displays the source image to the user. At the same time, the system displays the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the data field in the source image to facilitate comparing the recognized text with the text contained in the source image.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for displaying automatically recognized text, wherein the automatically recognized text includes optical character recognition (OCR) text or intelligent character recognition (ICR) text, the method comprising:
 receiving a source image containing text from a user; 
 performing a character-recognition operation on the source image to produce recognized text; 
 locating a data field within the source image, wherein the data field includes original text; 
 identifying a subset of the recognized text that corresponds to the original text in the data field; 
 determining a probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error; 
 adjusting an attribute of a font used to display the subset of the recognized text to indicate the probability to the user; 
 displaying the source image to the user; and 
 simultaneously displaying the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the original text in the data field in the source image, such that the subset of the recognized text and the original text in the data field are both visible to the user, to facilitate comparing the recognized text with the original text contained in the source image. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a text-correction operation from the user on the subset of the recognized text; and 
 performing the text-correction operation on the subset of the recognized text. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises visually coupling the subset of the recognized text to the data field. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein visually coupling the subset of the recognized text to the data field involves placing the subset of the recognized text in a callout that is coupled to the data field. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises displaying the subset of the recognized text on top of the source image such that the subset of the recognized text partially obscures the source image. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises adjusting an attribute of a font displaying the subset of the recognized text to match an attribute of a source font displaying the data field. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error involves comparing the subset of the recognized text to a second subset of the recognized text, which corresponds to a second data field in the source image. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error involves comparing the subset of the recognized text to a template for a document type associated with the source image. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the data field involves determining a location for the subset of the recognized text based on a set of heuristics. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing the character-recognition operation on the source image involves:
 determining a location of the data field within the source image; 
 determining a data type for the data field based on the location of the data field; and 
 selecting the character-recognition operation based on the data type. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining the data type for the data field involves:
 determining a document type for the source image; and 
 retrieving a template for the document type, wherein the template defines data types for data fields based on locations of the data fields within the source image. 
 
     
     
       12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for displaying automatically recognized text, wherein the automatically recognized text includes optical character recognition (OCR) text or intelligent character recognition (ICR) text, the method comprising:
 receiving a source image containing text from a user; 
 performing a character-recognition operation on the source image to produce recognized text; 
 locating a data field within the source image, wherein the data field includes original text; 
 identifying a subset of the recognized text that corresponds to the original text in the data field; 
 determining a probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error; 
 adjusting an attribute of a font used to display the subset of the recognized text to indicate the probability to the user; 
 displaying the source image to the user; and 
 simultaneously displaying the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the original text in the data field in the source image, such that the subset of the recognized text and the original text in the data field are both visible to the user, to facilitate comparing the recognized text with the original text contained in the source image. 
 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving a text-correction operation from the user on the subset of the recognized text; and 
 performing the text-correction operation on the subset of the recognized text. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises visually coupling the subset of the recognized text to the data field. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein visually coupling the subset of the recognized text to the data field involves placing the subset of the recognized text in a callout that is coupled to the data field. 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises displaying the subset of the recognized text on top of the source image such that the subset of the recognized text partially obscures the source image. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text further comprises adjusting an attribute of a font displaying the subset of the recognized text to match an attribute of a source font displaying the data field. 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein determining the probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error involves comparing the subset of the recognized text to a second subset of the recognized text which corresponds to a second data field in the source image. 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein determining the probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error involves comparing the subset of the recognized text to a template for a document type associated with the source image. 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein displaying the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the data field involves determining a location for the subset of the recognized text based on a set of heuristics. 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein performing the character-recognition operation on the source image involves:
 determining a location of the data field within the source image; 
 determining a data type for the data field based on the location of the data field; and 
 selecting the character-recognition operation based on the data type. 
 
     
     
       22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 21 , wherein determining the data type for the data field involves:
 determining a document type for the source image; and 
 retrieving a template for the document type, wherein the template defines data types for data fields based on locations of the data fields within the source image. 
 
     
     
       23. An apparatus configured to display automatically recognized text, wherein the automatically recognized text includes optical character recognition (OCR) text or intelligent character recognition (ICR) text, comprising:
 a processor; 
 a memory; 
 a receiving mechanism configured to receive a source image containing text from a user; 
 a character-recognition mechanism configured to perform a character-recognition operation on the source image to produce recognized text; 
 a location mechanism configured to locate a data field within the source image, wherein the data field includes original text; 
 an identification mechanism configured to identify a subset of the recognized text that corresponds to the original text in the data field; 
 a calculation mechanism configured to determine a probability that the subset of the recognized text includes a recognition error; 
 a font-adjustment mechanism configured to adjust an attribute of a font used to display the subset of the recognized text to indicate the probability to the user; and 
 a display mechanism configured to display the source image to the user; 
 wherein the display mechanism is further configured to simultaneously display the subset of the recognized text in close proximity to the original text in the data field in the source image, such that the subset of the recognized text and the original text in the data field are both visible to the user, to facilitate comparing the recognized text with the original text contained in the source image.